MA Senate Candidates Debate at UMass Lowell

By Sharline Nabulime — 10/04/11
They want to take the late Ted Kennedy’s seat away from Scott Brown.
There are six of them who are determined to unseat the Republican
Senator who won in a special election. But first they have to face
each other in a primary election. Their first debate kept Elizabeth
Warren as the frontrunner but they were all able to get out their
message.
State Representative Tom Conroy said he’ll be that voice in the Senate
who makes sure we get back to balanced budget and added that he’s no
stranger to beating GOP candidates. Immigration Attorney Marisa
DeFranco said that as a small business owner, she knows what it takes
to create jobs. City Year co-founder Alan Khazei believes Congress
doesn’t get it but he has a plan to put the nation back on track
through job creation.
Engineer and activist Herb Robinson said that his strength lies in his
not being a politician. He focused on energy as a way to create jobs
and warned that a lack of focus on energy will kill the economy.
Global Reporting Initiative co-founder Bob Massie warned Democrats
against what he called a rush to judgement to support one candidate
Elizabeth Warren. A recent poll by U-Mass Lowell and the Boston Herald
showed Warren receiving 38 percent and Brown getting 41 percent of
the vote.
Warren is continuing her message about the economy. She stressed that
it’s not about her but about the restoration of America’s middle
class. Warren urged voters to join her in a fight she considered to be
part of American values.
The candidates were asked what superhero they would want to be. Conroy
said Captain America while DeFranco named one of the Wonder Twins.
Khazei went with Flash, Robinson wanted to be The Incredible Hulk,and
Massie took Superman. Warren’s answer was Wonder Woman, citing her
“cool outfit.” In another instance, she couldn’t resist taking a jab
at Brown when she said that to pay for her school loans, she kept her
clothes on.
They all want to create jobs, balance the budget, reform immigration,
move America forward, and beat Scott Brown.